EDITORS DESK

Every year, at around January or February, there’s an event that grabs the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Called the BOSS Ironman, this is nothing like the typical ironman triathlete competitions. This Ironman is done on cars and motorcycles and requires participants to drive a 1,000+ kilometer route around public roads in Luzon, and most recently, around Mindanao. The headlines this event garnered typically revolved around serious road accidents participants were involved in, often affecting non-participants that were on the road, unaware the event was taking place.

Dubious honor
 

You see, while organizers insist this is not a race and no prizes are given for top times, participants have taken it upon themselves to complete the challenge in record time and boast about these achievements. There’s no shortage of qualifiers and superlatives they attach to their claim in order to be the “first.” They range from “first rider under 30,” “first rider over 50,” “first in a bike under 500cc,” “first non-European bike to finish,” or whatever inane qualifier solely to claim the achievement. Even more horrifying is the fact that some have managed to secure corporate sponsors to enter these events and secure these achievements. The event is supposed to be a personal achievement any rider can aspire to. Instead, it’s been turned into a competition, with unofficial time records kept by repeat participants and getting shorter each year.

In the last running of the event, the organizers have become more strict, installing GPS trackers and penalizing participants caught speeding or arriving at checkpoints far sooner than they should were they following road rules. Violators were disqualified from entering succeeding events; something truly painful for those seeking double achievements in both Luzon and Mindanao legs.

A shining example
 

This year, there was no BOSS Ironman. Instead, what did happen was something a little more unique, and thankfully, far safer and better organized: the FJ Moto Mountaincross Adventure, now on its fourth year. As the name suggests, it’s a challenge that involves traversing mountains, typically through rough, undeveloped roads. While some parts involve public road sections, majority of the event is off-road and requires a fairly capable motorcycle and a bit of skill from the rider. It spans several days and requires participants to hit specific checkpoints through skilled navigating. It garnered quite a field of entries this year, numbering up to 400 participants. 

Like the BOSS Ironman, participants are fitted with GPS trackers, there are checkpoints, and participants can expect fairly little sleep while competing at the event. Unlike BOSS Ironman, the organizers were already wise to all the tricks of those seeking to brag about their achievements during this event.

The social media rule
 

You see, besides not awarding top times, and the required fitting of GPS tracking equipment that logs location and speed, organizers were also poring over participants’ social media pages for a particular reason. Below is their ruling, verbatim:

“Finisher riders or teams are prohibited from using the phrase ‘first to arrive’ or any statement suggesting that they were first to reach the finish line in their social media post after the event. Failure to adhere to this rule will lead to a ban from participating in any future FJ Moto Mountaincross Adventure events.”

Who would have thought this simple rule was all it took to reign in the overinflated egos that have ruined BOSS Ironman events? The results speak for themselves. At the end of the event, the organizers revealed that there were zero accidents involving non-participants, as well as zero cases of over speeding, according to their GPS tracking partner. And yes, there were also zero cases of boasting or claiming petty achievements on social media. Granted, much of the event is off-road and it’s less likely to get up to dangerous speeds. Nonetheless, moving such events to less traveled roads might be the smarter and safer move. There are still thrills to be had this way, which are thankfully less life-threatening too.

The organizers of the FJ Moto Mountaincross Adventure deserve serious commendation. This is how a motorcycle endurance event should be run, particularly in the wake of the last BOSS Ironman and the serious accidents in Marilaque Highway in Tanay, Rizal. Once a rider’s ego is taken out of the equation, it radically changes the competition for the better.

(Iñigo S. Roces is the Motoring Editor of Manila Bulletin)